Columbia Southern Univ - MS Occupational Health & Safety

Hello everybody....me again.

I have narrowed down my school choices to the final two, one of which is an excellent RA public university (Colorado State U) in my home town with an excellent ABET-accredited Industrial Hygiene program, but it would require me to drop out of the work force for two full years, which I may not be able to afford (mortgage, etc.).

The other option I am considering is the MS in Occupational Health and Safety from Columbia Southern University. The school is DETC accredited and the environmental management option offers the exact courses I need to achieve my professional goals.

I do NOT want to start an RA vs. DETC thread. Attending the DETC school will provide me with the *knowledge* that I need, regardless of any NA vs. RA problems.

So, does it seem like a wise choice to attend Columbia Southern, given the following:

1. I have absolutely no interest in research;
2. I have no interest in ever getting a PhD;
3. My undergrad degree from TESC qualifies me for the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) certification exam, and the Col South Master's is recognized for the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) designation;
4. I'd prefer to stay in the workforce.

My *only* concern with the DETC school is the potential impact on employability with Fortune 500 companies. Is this a legitimate concern?

I'm looking for opinions, and I know there are some here.

Thank you!
-Jassen Bowman

 

Mr. Bowman,
As of 09/10/04, I withdrew from Columbia Southern U. M.S in Criminal Justice program. I completed my first course with absolutely no problems. However, from the very beggining of my second course I had constant problems.
First, they utilize Blackboard. Whenever I tried to sign on to get info about my course, it would not let me log on. It always said, "contact administrator" or "Unable to log on". It usually took about 6-10 attempts to log on before I became successful.
Second, CSU utilizes online quizzes, which is great, because you get your score immediately. However, on 3 of the 6 quizzes I completed, it marked questions wrong, that I absolutely knew for fact was correct. I had to contact student services and my professor multiple times to make them aware of the situation, and they always instructed me to email them the question and the answer. After a few weeks they made the corrections to my quiz score, but having gone through that it made me nervous to take quizzes and exams, always wondering if there gonna mark a question wrong, that is in fact correct. I dont have time to go back over 100 questions and make sure they were graded correctly.
Having said that, Im sure there are many students who have gone to CSU without any problems. This is just my experience after only 2 months. I have since withdrawn and am currently looking for another school. I think a DETC school will be fine for what you are doing and the goals you have set forth. Ofcourse, other people may feel differently. Good Luck.
Frank C.

 

JassenB,

I have just sent a response to your private mail. I apologize that it took me a long time to get back to you. Again, my many apologies.

In addition to my prior response. I do not know much about Columbia Southern University. However, I do not think that getting an EHS degree from CSU, a DETC school, will hurt you. Granted, there are some (not many) RA schools that have DL EHS degree programs. I do not know if they still do, but Central Missouri State University (an RA school) in Warrensburg, Missouri use to have a limited DL or off-campus EHS degree program.

Also, you have to remember that there are still many people in the EHS profession that only obtain their Safety Management certificate from the National Safety Council. These people are doing well in their areas of expertise. Although, an advance RA EHS degree will generally lead you to a senior management position in an organization.

I wish you all the luck in your endeavors. Thank you.
Cehi

 

Thanks for telling me about this. The course delivery is something I hadn't thought about, to be honest. I have always preferred WebCT over Blackboard for user interface reasons, so that is definitely something for me to consider. Thanks for sharing this experience.

-Jassen

 

No problem. I figured you were busy with other things, I do it all the time and respond to e-mails months later.

I have been in touch with the program coordinator at Central Missouri State. While I like their program, they have made some changes such that only about 1/3 of it can be done via DL. Otherwise, I'd probably go for it.

While it may sound career limiting, I really don't ever see myself wanting to move into a senior management position, so I'm not worried so much about that. As long as I can transition into the profession in the technical ranks, I'll be happy (and the jobs pay well enough for my taste, I'm not overly greedy).

Thanks for your information cehi, I appreciate it.

Take care!
-Jassen

 

Columbia Southern University

I can tell you my experence with Columbia Southern University. I earned a Masters Degree from CSU in Criminal Justice Administration, I found the school to be extremely helpful, Challenging , and benneficial in my career. I later applied to several RA schools for a Ph.D in Criminal Justice Administration and had no problems be accepted.
I'm sure with each school there are good points and bad, however, I honestly don't feel you would be making a mistake going to CSU.

Good Luck
TomC.